Ashland
by MManiac18
Summary: A high society, city girl reunites with her old childhood best friend one summer in Ashland, Louisiana where they learn to deal with life, love, and loss. R&R please
1. Prologue

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**Ashland, Louisiana**

**Summer 1997**

"Look at how cute I look!" Seven-year-old Millicent Bradshaw exclaimed boastfully. Her pudgy fist held tightly onto the Polaroid picture she had just taken.

"You can't look any cuter than me!" Nine-year-old Benjamin Montgomery exclaimed, playfully snatching the picture out of her hand. He smirked slightly as he looked at the picture. It was a picture of both of them standing on top of Old Rocky, the rock Benjamin had proclaimed as the biggest rock in all of Ashland, which wasn't really all that amazing, especially considering "all of Ashland" consisted of 27.1 square miles of farmland and 291 people. Ben was standing on the left side; his Levi's covered in grass stains, wearing the same sheepish grin he wore whenever he got his picture taken. His jet-black hair was messy as ever, and his green eyes were filled with mischief.

Millicent, who Ben preferred to call Macy, was standing to the right of Benjamin. One of her arms was casually slumped over Ben's shoulder, and the other one was fully extended with her fingers forming a lopsided peace sign. She wore denim overalls, and a huge smile that exposed her missing two front teeth. Her curly, blonde hair was in sloppy pigtails, and her light blue eyes were looking over at Benjamin.

"Well, maybe you look a bit cuter than me, Macy." He stated, after looking at the picture for quite a while.

"I know I do!" She replied, putting her hands on her hips, "And it's not fair that you have a nickname for me and I don't have one for you…" A slow smile spread across her face as it came to her mind, "…Benny-Boo!"

"That's an ugly nickname!" He exclaimed, wrinkling his nose, "Besides, my mom used to call me that when I was a kid."

"You still are a kid!" She poked his stomach and laughed.

"Am not, I'm nine years old! That's a whole two years older than you!" He poked her back, and smiled triumphantly.

"Who cares, you're still a kid." She simply stated, shrugging her shoulders, "And there's nothing you can do to change that!" Macy didn't feel like bickering with Benjamin anymore, so she walked over to Old Rocky and lay down on the tall grass in front of it.

Ben walked over and lay down beside her. They lay in silence for a few minutes, watching the clouds slowly move by and listening to the sounds of the nearby crickets. Macy inhaled deeply, knowing that this was the last time she'd be breathing in fresh, country air, at least until the next summer.

"This summer went by faster than last." Ben accurately stated, breaking the silence.

"Yeah. It's hard to believe that by this time tomorrow, I'll be back home in New York." Macy replied, closing her eyes. She could feel tears starting to form, so she choked them back as best as she could.

"I bet it'll be nice to be back home again. And see your folks, and all that." He pushed his fists in his pockets and continued looking up at the sky. He felt sad that she was leaving, which was really stupid, especially considering he wasn't a kid anymore. Big kids never felt sad; at least that's what his naive mentality told him, "Besides, your coming back here to visit your Gram and Gramps next summer, right?"

"Yeah, I think so." Macy had been visiting Ashland, Louisiana for every summer since she was three years old, and she didn't think that was going to change anytime soon.

"Cool. Maybe next summer your Gramps will let us drive the lawn mower." Ben and Macy both laughed hysterically at his statement. Macy sighed loudly and rolled over on the grass, so that her face was right in front of Ben's.

"You're my best friend, Benjamin Montgomery." She smiled sadly, and quickly hugged him.

"You're my best friend, too. Even if you are a girl. And even if you are giving me cooties right now!" Ben laughed, and Macy rolled her eyes. They both stood in front of each other, neither of them wanting to leave. Once they left they field, both of them knew that the frog catching and secret handshakes would all become a distant memory as they settled back into their everyday lives. Macy in New York with her wealthy, high society parents, and Ben in Ashland, living with his widowed mother and helping out around their farm.

"I have to go and get packed." Macy finally said, knowing that one of them was going to have to get around to it sooner or later, "My plane leaves really early tomorrow, and so I probably won't get to see you then. I guess this is goodbye." She placed her hand on his shoulder, and handed him the picture they had taken earlier that day, "You keep this, that way you'll never forget me. Please don't forget me." She smiled sadly, and with that, she ran away.

Ben was left dumbfounded, standing alone in the field with a frown on his face. After standing for nearly an hour, he looked down at the picture and smiled, "I'll never forget you, Macy Bradshaw. I promise."

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**Author's Note: This is just the prologue, don't worry. Hopefully you liked it. Please review, reviews make me happy :D**


	2. The Start of Summer

**10 YEARS LATER**

"BENJAMIN RYAN MONTGOMERY!" Sarabeth Montgomery yelled at the top of her lungs. She bounded into his bedroom, and pulled at his covers, "Benjamin, wake up! It's already a quarter to 8. You ain't gonna get nothing done lyin' in bed! Now, get up this instant, young man!"

Ben groaned loudly and buried his face in his pillow, "Mom! It's summer..I'm allowed to sleep in!" He pulled up his covers and began to fall asleep again.

"No, you are not sleepin' in! You promised the Bradshaw's that you'd be doin' their yard work this summer. You're due over there by 8:30, so you had better get crackin'!" Sarabeth stood at the foot of his bed with her hands on her hips. Her black hair had already been put into a bun, and she was already wearing her yellow "kiss the cook" apron.

"Oh yeah...I forgot." He sat up, and blinked his eyes rapidly hoping that it would help him wake up, "Remind me again why I promised to help them?

"Benjamin, you know the Bradshaw's ain't gettin' any younger. It'll be nice for them to have a strappin' young fella like yourself to help them out around the farm! Plus, they've treated you like their own grandchild, so you can at least help them out. It's only for one summer." She pulled him up out of bed, and tussled his hair.

"All right, I'm goin' Ma." He rolled his eyes, and yawned loudly, "Just let me get dressed."

"Okay then. I made some scrambled eggs, so you can have some before you go." She smiled proudly at Ben and then walked out of his room, closing his door behind her.

Ben grabbed a white t-shirt and a clean pair of jeans off of his dresser and quickly dressed himself. Before heading downstairs for breakfast, he took a quick look at himself in the mirror. He wasn't a bad looking guy; in fact quite a few girls had asked him out in high school. His hair was dark black, and a nice length too. Not buzzed, but not head banger long, just nice. His eyes were a deep green, almost the color of an emerald. His mother had always told him that he had beautiful eyes, but when he looked at them, he thought they just looked sad. He shrugged his shoulders and ran a hand through his hair. He ran down the stairs and into the kitchen. He quickly kissed his mother on the cheek.

"I'm not hungry, Ma, so I'm just going to head straight to the Bradshaw's. Maybe I'll come home for lunch, okay?" He grabbed a water bottle from the fridge, and headed out the door before Sarabeth could say anything.

The sun shone brightly, just like it did every summer in Ashland. The sunrays only accented the honey-color of all the wheat fields in his family's estate. He gave a tired smile as he approached a wired fence at the edge of the yard. He hopped it with ease, like he had done so many times before, and immediately landed in the Bradshaw's field. Mr and Mrs. Bradshaw were sitting on the back porch of their white, colonial farmhouse. As soon as they saw Ben approaching, Mrs. Bradshaw hopped out of her seat and walked quickly over towards him.

"Oh, Benjamin! How lovely to see you today, darling!" She embraced him in a large hug, but because he had surpassed 6 feet, and she was just under 5, it was more like she was hugging his waist.

"It's nice to see you, too, Mrs. Bradshaw." He smiled politely at her and waved over at Mr. Bradshaw, who was in the middle of reading the Ashland Times. Mr. Bradshaw waved back, and then buried his head once again in the newspaper, "So, what can I do for you today, Mrs.B?"

"Oh, there's so much to do Benjamin! Especially because we have a special visitor coming to see us tomorrow! We want the fields to look absolutely divine!" The little old woman was teeming with excitement, as she grabbed Ben's hand and led him over to the garden shed.

"A visitor, huh? Well then I'll be extra sure to do my best!" He smiled inwardly, thinking of who could possibly be visiting the old Bradshaw's. Probably one of Mrs.B's bingo buddies from New Orleans, or one of Mr.B's old business partners.

"Oh yes, do your absolute best! She hasn't seen the farm in years, and I want it to look better than it did when she left!" She happily passed him some gardening tools from a shelf in the shed, "And you'll have to make sure to mow the lawn, we haven't done that in some time!"

"Will do, Mrs. Bradshaw." He said obediently, carefully juggling all the tools and supplies, "Can I get started now?"

"Why of course, of course! If you need anything, feel free to help yourself to a beverage or something! Thank you Benjamin, thank you. Your help is very appreciated. I mean, Alvin and I are getting older now and...it's nice to have a young one such as yourself taking time out of his busy life to help out around our farm!" She gave him a kiss on the forehead, and patted his hand, "Run along now, there are only so many of hours of daylight in one day!"

"It's not a problem, Mrs.B. Have a nice day." He walked away from the shed, and into the fields of their farm. It was only 9 in the morning and he was already sweating from the unbearable, Louisiana heat. He wiped his brow and quickly got to work. It was going to be a long day.

As he was busily working, his thoughts drifted to remember the summer that he had turned ten. Sure, it was a long time ago, but that summer was vivid in his memory. He remembered it as if it were yesterday.

_"Hi Mrs.Bradshaw, Mr.Bradshaw! It's the last day of June! Is Macy...I mean Millicent, here yet? Shouldn't she be here now?" Ben almost shook from excitement as he stood at the front door of the Bradshaw's house._

_"Oh, I'm so sorry, son. Millicent is coming down this year. She's staying up in New York." Mr.Bradshaw gently placed his hand on Ben's shoulder. Ben's face fell immediately and he felt tears begin to well up._

_"Whaddya mean she's not coming? She comes to Ashland every summer!" He started breathing heavily, and a look of anger was written all over his face._

_"I'm sorry, kiddo. She's...just not coming. Go on home now, Benny. Go home."_

He had run home, and he locked himself in his room. He angrily tore the Polaroid of the two of them, and threw himself on his bed. He cried for two days straight. Macy had been his best friend, how could she have just decided not to come? Although Ben knew that Macy wasn't coming, he anxiously watched the Bradshaw's farm for the whole summer, hoping that Macy would come bounding down the driveway. Much to his dismay, she never did. Not that summer, or the next one, or the one after that. And now, here he was. Nineteen, handsome, and a sophomore in college, and yet his thoughts still drifted to the blonde, gap-toothed girl who had disappeared from his life without a trace.

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"Millicent! Are you sure you have everything?" asked Damon Bradshaw as he looked sceptically at the four suitcases his bodyguard juggled, "Four suitcases doesn't seem like enough, you are going for the whole summer."

"I'm not a fricken fashion diva, I'm a normal person. Normal people pack light. I can do laundry while I'm there, it's not a shame to wear the same outfit twice!" Macy walked beside her father in the busy airport with her arms crossed over her chest, "And I hate being called Millicent. Call me Macy like everyone else does!"

"You are my daughter, I won't have you speaking to me like that!" Damon punched a few numbers into his Blackberry and whispered a few quick demands to his bodyguard, Dennis. He then looked sympathetically at Macy, "I'm sorry, gorgeous, but I have to go. One of the models in the Manhattan show called in sick, and Delilah can't find a replacement. She needs me." He kissed her on the forehead quickly, "Dennis will take you to the terminal. Have a good time, sweetie pie. I'll call you later. Safe travels!" He waved behind him as he walked away, leaving a flustered Macy behind him.

"Um, I'm sorry about your father, Miss Bradshaw." Dennis's deep voice said sympathetically, "We should get going now, you don't want to miss your flight." He smoothed out his black suit jacket and readjusted his earpiece. He grabbed her luggage, and smiled at Macy encouragingly.

"No worries Dennis, let's role." She said, masking her emotions and grabbing one of her bags to lighten Dennis's load. Her father was a fashion mogul and was often busy with clients and work related events, so she was used to him not being around and missing important events in her life, such as her high school graduation. She had taught herself not to be disappointed by these things anymore, and she had became quite good at it.

Walking with a 6'10" bodyguard made walking through the busy airport effortless, and they had reached her terminal in less than five minutes. She grabbed her other bags from Dennis, along with her airline ticket. She smiled brightly at him, and waved, "I'll see you around, Dennis. Have a good summer, and tell Katherine and the baby I send my best."

He blushed slightly and smiled back, "Will do. You have a good summer too, Miss Bradshaw."

Macy nodded sadly and gave her ticket to the flight attendant, who introduced herself as Abby, upon noticing who Macy was and who her parents were. Abby giggled like a schoolgirl and escorted Macy to her first class seat.

"Um, Millicent? I know you probably get this a lot, but can I have your autograph?" Abby asked once Macy was comfortably seated. She took a piece of paper and a pen out of her pocket and held them in front of her anxiously.

"First of all, don't call me Millicent. My parents only named me that because the year I was born was the year that it was cool for celebrities to give their kids horrible old-fashioned names. Call me Macy. And secondly, why would you want my autograph? I'm not even famous!" Macy arched an eyebrow, as Abby's eyes widened in fury.

"God, losing your mother as a kid doesn't give you an excuse to be so rude!" Abby hissed as she stormed out of first class and into the main cabin. Macy recoiled as if she had been slapped. She rested her head against the back of the seat and closed her eyes.

Macy had been born, Millicent Luciana Rosabella Bradshaw, on June 21, 1990. Her parents, Luciana Accardi, a famous Italian fashion designer and super model, and Damon Bradshaw, the owner of several chains of fashion boutiques around the world, had met three years earlier at a fashion expo in Europe. They had fallen in love very quickly, and were married only a few months after meeting each other. They bought a large house in Manhattan and started a new fashion line they simply called DL. In a matter of months, everybody who was anybody had a pair of DL designer jeans or sunglasses, DL boutiques were starting to be opened in the United Kingdom, and Damon and Luciana were expecting their first child.

Macy had been spoiled rotten by her parents. She wore only designer children's clothing, and attended Telesco Academy, a private school in New York meant for children with parents of multi-millionaire or celebrity status. She remembered being grateful for having the name Millicent, when, on the first day of kindergarten, she was introduced to the twin daughters of the actress Peyton Rush, who had been named Stormm and Reignbow.

Although attending celebrity events and going to school with kids named after planets and fruits was entertaining, the best part of Macy's priveleged childhood was going to Louisiana every summer, where she could be a regular little girl with overalls and grass stains instead of being a well-behaved, spoiled rich kid. She spent the whole year looking forward to the summertime, and once it came, she would hop on a plane and anxiously await her arrival in Ashland.

However, her feelings toward Ashland changed when she returned home the summer of '97. She had discovered that while she was gone, her mother had died in car accident. Her father had not told her while she was away for fear that it would ruin her trip. Macy stopped talking for weeks, and was home schooled that next school year by an Italian tutor. Her father had buried himself into his work, and was hardly ever home. When summer came around, she decided not to go to Louisiana anymore because she was afraid that something bad would happen when she returned home. In the fall, she started going back to school where she would act out on a regular basis in hopes of getting attention from her father. Her rebellious behavior only increased when she became a teenager with a belly button piercing, all-night partying, and the arrival of Damon's new girlfriend, Delilah Devereux, who had taken over Luciana's position in the fashion line.

Finally, after Macy arrived home at 4 in the morning after one too many snorkel shots at her senior prom, her father had decided that he had had enough of her rebellious behavior. Originally, he was going to send her to his parent's house in Rhode Island, but they had already made plans to go to Hawaii for the summer. As a last resort, Damon decided to send Macy to Ashland. He hoped that a summer away from New York and her spoiled, wild friends would get her in shape to start university in the fall.

Macy was rudely awaken from her deep sleep by the sound of the pilot on the plane's overhead speakers, telling the passengers to fasten their seatbelts and prepare for landing. Macy smiled to herself mischievously and buckled up her seatbelt,

"Watch out, Ashland, here I come."

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**I hope you liked it. Please Review :)**


	3. Getting Settled

"The farm looks exactly the same as last time I saw it, Gramps." Macy stated as she carefully observed the land.

"I wish I could say the same about you, sweetheart." He replied, eyeing her outfit with an arched eyebrow. She wore a white miniskirt with a designer, light pink tankini top accented with white polka dots. Normally, that would probably be considered a nice outfit, but Macy had topped it off with black combat boots. Needless to say, he missed the overalls and turtlenecks.

"Everything has to change sometime, Gramps." She hugged him quickly and flashed him a smile, "I had better take my bags up to my room. I still use the guest room, right?"

"Of course." He patted her affectionately on the top of her head, "Your Gram is making dinner. Pork chops, your favorite. They should be ready in about a half an hour."

"That sounds great. I'll come down and eat once I'm settled in." Macy waved as she walked into the house. She felt a shiver down her spine as she walked up the stairs. The tragedy of losing her mother had erased many of her childhood memories, but walking down the hallways had caused a flood of emotions and memories to return. Memories that she had forgot had existed.

She suddenly remembered a little boy with sloppy, black hair. She remembered his eyes, and their distinct beryl color. She just couldn't quite remember his name. She decided that she'd ask her grandparents at dinner, maybe they remembered who the little boy was.

She pushed open her bedroom door, and slowly unpacked all of her things. The last thing she unpacked was a small teddy bear. It was dark brown, and had custom-made eyes made of rubies. Actual rubies. It was the last thing Macy had received from her mother before she passed away and she took it everywhere she went.

When she finished, she decided to change into something a little more presentable. After all, she loved her grandparents and didn't want them to feel awkward around her because of the way she dressed. She put on a white ruffled tank dress and tied her long, blonde locks, which she had straightened early that day, up with a ribbon. She smiled as she looked at herself in the mirror, realizing that she had successfully achieved the classic, country girl look she was going for. She heard her grandmother call her name, and with a quick spritz of mango body spray, she made her way down the stairs.

"It smells really good, Gram." She said truthfully as she made her way into the kitchen. She sat on a bar stool and watched her grandmother as she put the finishing touches on the meal.

"Oh, thank you, m'dear!" Her grandmother replied, scurrying around the kitchen holding a gravy boat and two onions. She glanced up at Macy for a split second and smiled proudly, "Well, don't you clean up nice! You look beautiful darling! Beautiful indeed!"

Even though her grandmother was technically insulting her, Macy couldn't help but smile at the sugary sweetness of her voice, "Thank you, Gram."

"Oh, anytime! Anytime! I'm glad you dressed fancily, because we're having some guests for dinner! I hope you don't mind, m'dear, but they are very close friends of ours."

"Um, no. I don't mind. Not at all." Macy lied. She wasn't exactly enthused about being forced to converse with a couple of country bumpkins over dinner, but if they were close friends of her grandparents, well, one meal with a few strangers wouldn't be so bad. "So...who are the guests?"

"Our next-door neighbors, Sarabeth and Benjamin. You'll love them, m'dear! They are great people, they always help us around the farm."

"Gee, they sound great, Gram." Macy hoped that Gram ignored the sarcasm that dripped from her reply.

"Yes, and they are great. Great indeed! Little Benjamin is somewhere around your age, maybe you guys can do cartwheels or whatever it is you crazy kids do these days! I'm sure you guys will get along just fine!"

"Oh...yay?" That was the only reply that Macy could muster up. She laid her head on the counter and covered her head with her arms in distress. Gram came up to her and poked her head gently.

"Sweetheart, you're all hunched over! That's not very good for the back, m'dear! Sit straight up, push your bosom out, and look forward!"

"Graaam!" She felt her cheeks turn ten shades of red. Having her grandmother tell her to stick out her boobs was probably more mortifying then having her naked baby photos broadcasted on CNN two weeks after her birth.

Her grandmother completely ignored her, and got back to sprinkling seasoning over the pork chops. After a few minutes of silence, Gram spoke up, "Darling? Would you mind picking some lilacs from the front yard? I think it would be simply divine to have a vase of lilacs on the dinner table!"

"Okay, Gram. I'll be right back."

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**The Macy and Ben reunion will be happening next chapter. I hope you liked this. Click the little button on the left if you love this story :)**


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